The federal government on Tuesday said it is considering filing criminal charges against International Oil Companies implicated in the alleged export of $17bn worth of Nigeria’s undeclared crude and gas resources between 2011 and 2014.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, disclosed this on Tuesday when he appeared before a House of Representatives ad hoc committee.
The committee, chaired by Abdulrazak Namdas, is investigating the alleged crude and gas theft.
Malami explained that his office was investigating the level of involvement of the firms to establish concrete evidence to sustain the criminal charges before proceeding to court.
The minister stated that nine civil litigation were already instituted in Lagos and Abuja against some IOCs and other oil firms primarily to recover the government’s undeclared crude and gas resources.
Malami also admitted that it was former President Goodluck Jonathan, under whose regime the alleged theft took place, who initiated the process for the civil litigation in 2013, adding that the present administration has decided to follow up on the case and see it to the end.
